Process of preparing material for and producing therefrom nitrified material



Sept. 2, 1924. 31,506,999

. LH. REID Paocsss OF'PREEARING MATERIAL FOR AND PRODUCING THERBFROM NITRIEIED MATERIAL Filed Dec. 16. 1920 Patented Sept. 2, 1924.

umrso STATES LWMNQ PATENT OFFHQEO JAMES HENRY REID, O'F READSBORO, VERMONT, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL NITROGEN COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO,'A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

PROCESS OF PREPARING MATERIAL FOR AND PRODUCING THEREFROM NITRIFIED MATERIAL.

Application filed December 16, 1920. Serial No. 431,100.

T 0 all whom 2'25 may concern Be it known that I, Janus HENRY REID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Readsboro, in the county of Bennington and State of Vermont, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes of Preparing Material for and Producing Therefrom l itritied Material, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to a process for preparing material for, and for producing therefrom, nitrified material, and has for its general object to accomplish these objects in a particularly etlicient and economical manner.

In the practice of my invention, I retort a mixture suitable for the production of carbid material and for the evolution of gas, reduce the carbid material to carbid with the evolution of more gas, and nitrify the carbid. The retorting operation and the heating of the carbid in an atmosphere of nitrogen will preferably be accomplished by the combustion of some of the gases evolved by the retorting operation and by the carbid reaction, while the nitrogen necessary for the nitrifying of the carbid will preferably be obtained in part at least from the products of combustion of such gases,. Where a local electric generator is employed for the generation of the electrical energy required for the production of the carbid, the power necessary to operate the generator may also be obtained by the combustion of some of the gases produced as above set forth, and the nitrogen (or a part thereof) produced by such combustion may also be used in the nitrification of the carbid.

In thedrawing. there is shown a diagrammatic view of a plant or system for realizing my invention.

For the production of the carbid material, I preferably employ approximately equal parts by weight of distillable cokable carbonaceous material (such as bituminous coal) and a calcium oxy-coinpound (such as calcium carbonate, in the form of limestone). The coal and the limestone are groundthe former to a fineness of about forty mesh grinders for this purpose being indicated by 1 and 2 and provided each with a hopper, 1 and 2 for the coal and limestone, respec tively. From the grinder, the coal andlimestone are delivered to a mixer 3, and the intimate mixture of coal and limestone is then delivered to a retort or a bench of retorts, in dicated at 4 and each having a combustion chamber 5.

In the retort or retorts, the mixture is Y coal in and through their contact with incandescent particles of limestone and coal or coke, as, pointed out in my application 1T0. 358,456, filed February 13, 1920. The gas thus evolved will be purified in the usual manner and may be conducted to a gas holder 6 by a suitable conduit 7. The retort may be heated by the combustionof part of the gases thus produced, the gases being led to the combustion chamber 5 by a pipe 8, gases for the initial operation of the retort being furnished by means of a gas producer 9 which may also deliver its gas into the holder 6 by a conduit 10.

The material obtained by the retorting operation consists of an intimate mixture of coke and limestone, the limestone not having been converted into lime by reason of the fact that the retorting operation has been conducted in a reducing atmosphere, at least as long as hydrocarbon vapors or gases are evolved. The mixture thus produced. is in an ideal condition for the production of calcium carbid in an electric furnace 11, which may be of the type shown in my aforesaid application, the limestone-coke being delivered into said furnace in any convenient manner and preferablywhile in a heated condition. In the furnace 11 the limestone coke Will be converted into calcium carbid with the evolution of gas consisting principally of carbon monoxide. The gas thus evolved may also be conducted to the holder 6, through a conduit 12.

The calcium carbid will be passed through a grinder indicated at 13, and thence delivered into the nitrification oven or retort 14, the combustion chamber of which is indicated generally at 15. The gas for heating the said material for nitrification will also preferably be i aken from'the holder 6, being conducted to the nitrification oven or retort by a pipe 16.

\Vhere a local electric generator is employed, the boiler 17 of the same may be heated by means of gas; conducted from the holder (3 through a pipe 18 and burned in the con'ibustion chamber 17. Steam from the boiler 17 will operate the turbine or other engine l!) which drives the generator 90,the conductors 21 and 22 of which lead to the opposite electrodes l f and 11 of the electric furnace 1'1.

For the purpose of nitrit'yiug the carbid supplied to the oven or retort 14, products of con'lbustion from the retort 4-, the nit-ritication oven i land theboilcr 17 (or from any one or more of the same) will preferably be employed, the said gases being conducted to a purifier 23 by means oi which-carbon dioxide and other impurities may be removed from the nitrogen. The conduits tonthe products of combustion are indicated at 24, 9.5 and 26, and the conduit for conducting nitrogen from the purifier at 27. In the operation of the 'lorcgoii'ig plantor system, the raw material is prepared, ground, retorted, converted into calcium carbid and finally into nitriiied material. Ordinarily the gases evolved from the retort {t and from the furnace 11 will be ample to retort the fuel, nitrify the product, and operate the electric generator. Should there be any deficiency oi? such gas at any time, this deficiency may be readily made good by means-of the producer 9. Finally, the products of combustion which would otherwise go to waste are utthzedffor the purpose of nitritying the carbid. It will be apparent that, in and through the operation of my in- ;vention, I have accomplished a great citiciency and a great conservation of energy in the process of producing nitritied material from the raw materials up to and including the final product.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is: v

1. The process of producing nitri lied material which comprises retorting a miritur'e capable of evolving gas and producing carbid material, reducing the said material to fcarbid in an electrical.furnace,hcating such carbid 1n acontanier, utilizing at least some of the gases produced in the retorting and carbid-producing operation as fuel for heating the retort and the container and vfor the production of electrical energy for the car bid reaction, and nitritying the carbid in carbid-producing operation as "fuel for heatcarbid in a container, utilizing at least some of the gases produced in the retorting and ing the retort and the container, and nitri'lying the car-bid in such container by nitrogen obtained from the products of combustion of at. least a part o i such inch :1. The process of making nitrilicd mate- 7 rial which comprises retorting a mixture capable of evolving gas and producing carbid material to produce such material and such gas, reducing such mixture to produce carbid, using at least some of the gases evolved in the, retorting and reducing operations as a fuel for the retorting operation, collecting nitrogen from the combustion of such gaseous fuel, and nitri tying the cat-bid with such nitrogen and by heat developed by the comi bustion'of a part of such fuel.

The process of making nitritied material which comprises heating in a retort closed to the atmosphere a mixture capable of evolving a combustible gas and producing carbid material, reducing such material to carbid, heating such car-bid in a container in the presence of nitrogen, and utilizing at least some of the gases produced in both the retorting and the carbid-producing operaand container.

The process of making nitritied material which comprises retorting a mixture to form 'a solid product and a combustible gas, furnacing the solid product to form a product capable-of beingnitrified anda combustible gas, and using'at least a portion of the gases from such heating operations as fuel to heat the retort.

G. The process of making nitrilied material which comprises retorting a mixture to form a combustiblegas and an intermediate product, 'furnacing' said product to form a combustiblegas and a subsequent product, and using the ases from both the retorting and the furnaclng operations as fuel for the development of heat for performing said my signatur JAMES HENRY REID.

tions for the purpose of heating such retort 

